Unemployment rate continues to rise

The official unemployment rate in South Africa has increased by 0.5 percentage points to 27.2% in comparison to the first quarter of 2018, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said yesterday.

Maluleke was releasing the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2018.

The report shows that the increase in the unemployment rate is a result of a decline of 90 000 in the number of people employed, and an increase of 102 000 in the number of people who became unemployed between the first and second quarters of 2018.

“The South African working-age population increased by 154 000 or 0.4% in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2018,” Maluleke said.

“Employment gains of 22 000 were recorded in private households while the formal sector, the informal sector and agriculture recorded employment losses between the first and second quarters of 2018.”

The number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 77 000 while the number of those not economically active increased by 65 000, resulting in an increase of 141 000 [up by 0.9%] in the number of people not in the labour force between the first and second quarters of 2018.

The industry that recorded the most job losses was manufacturing, which accounted for 105 000 job losses, followed by community, social and personal services and trade.